DATE: October 7, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: City Attorney's Office
TITLE: INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OCEANSIDE AMENDING CHAPTER 15, ARTICLE II, OF THE OCEANSIDE CITY CODE TO REMOVE OBSOLETE REFERENCES TO THE COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER AND COUNTY HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENTS
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council introduce an ordinance amending Chapter 15, Article II, of the Oceanside City Code to remove two obsolete references tied to the County’s former role in regulating massage facilities: the definition of “Health officer” in Section 15.19 and the reference to the City’s “health regulations” in the license-issuance criteria of Section 15.24.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Massage therapists in California may be certified by the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) under the Massage Therapy Act (Business and Professions Code Section 4600 et seq.). Because CAMTC certification is administered at the state level and has largely replaced local licensing, the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ) has determined that massage facilities no longer require a County environmental inspection, and the County is transferring its massage regulatory program back to each local jurisdiction.
The County has advised that its massage program ends on November 30, 2026, and it has asked that participating cities update their local ordinances and have the changes adopted by November 2026. To date, the County reports that the Unincorporated County and the Cities of San Diego, Escondido, Chula Vista, and Carlsbad have adopted conforming updates. The County identified one permitted massage site in Oceanside, the Seabird Resort and Spa, for transition notification purposes.
As part of the transition, the County identified two items in Oceanside’s Code that reference the County’s now-ending role and should be removed: the definition of the Co...
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